A Variation of Self
by IsiGrace
Summary: People change, and often, at that. Behavior, personality, appearance- not many things are constant. The Grimm family, with its array of interesting and unique members, has learned that change in their house is not only inevitable, but should be expected. This series of oneshots follows the family during the those times when the inescapable change makes an impactful appearance.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- This story is basically a compilation of oneshots surrounding the Grimm's family. Different chapters might have recurring OCs, but two stories won't relate unless stated.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Sisters Grimm series**

 **Onto the story!**

* * *

God, she was tired.

The sound of a gun pierced the air, jolting Sabrina awake. She could hear her feet moving faster than she thought they could, but had no time to question whether that truly was the sound of her feet, or rather her heartbeat, furiously pulsing throughout her and shaking her body. Yells and overlapping screams registered in her ears, but at her pace, she had trouble placing it's location.

Her breathing was jagged, and the oldest of the Grimm sisters could feel her energy begin to drain, as if every step she took left a physical piece of it behind her. Her feet pounded on the reddish-brown ground, and she began sprint through the upcoming corner.

Shock was the first emotion that she felt, upon both seeing and hearing those behind her begin to catch up and increase their speed. Her peripheral vision spotted one of them nearly at her side. She quickly focused back on running, realizing she had slowed down while trying to get a sense of where the others were. Insane amounts of adrenaline mixed with determination forced Sabrina to pick up speed.

"Not much more left," she thought, "I can do this. I can beat this."

Every training, every practice, and every weekend spent preparing- it was for this. This challenge in front of her- or whatever it was- only fueled her anger, allowing her to push every foot down faster than the last. Sabrina knew giving up was not an option- at least, not one that ended well.

She snapped out of her thoughts. Her fists were balled up to the point of losing color, and she was going to damage her teeth soon, with her jaw clenched as tightly as it was. Noticing this, she forced herself to unclench her jaw and relax her hands. Stress was only going to slow her.

Her name was among the screams she heard, only encouraging her to move faster. She was close and gaining speed.

"Don't slow down when you know you're nearly there- that's when they catch up," she remembered, the words of her mother rising to the front of her mind, "Push all the way through, and don't look back."

She pumped her arms, keeping them by her side to become more streamlined, gathered the rest of her energy, and shot through the end, a bullet of speed. Cheers roared around her, but her beating pulse had muted the sound. She came to a stop, slightly surprised at how little she was panting. Her hand wiped away the beads of sweat that formed on her face- which was surely red- and a younger girl, a student manager, maybe, handed her a plastic stick with a number on one end.

Sabrina faintly heard an announcement about lining up, and gladly took her spot at the front. A woman, coach or volunteer, sat in a plastic chair behind a fold-out table, a clipboard being the only object occupying it. Sabrina handed the woman her plastic stick and spoke her name, then waited for a response.

"Congrats," the woman finally said, adjusting her visor, "Fifty and thirty-six."

She thanked the woman, and walked away to allow the girl behind her to move forward. Sabrina was elated, receiving high-fives, congratulations, and even a hug from a close friend. Her dry throat began to demand her attention, and she made a detour to her water bottle.

"You were okay, I guess," a familiar voice claimed, nonchalant. "I've done better."

Sabrina gulped down the rest of her water and turned around to face him.

"Shut up, Idiot," was her reply, and the boy in front of her rolled his eyes, a signature smirk formed on his face.

"What place?" he asked, ignoring her comment.

"First," she stated, her voice steady, attempting hide her excitement, "Fifty and thirty-six."

By now, the two teens were stationed by the fence, leaning on it, their eyes trained on the teammates preparing for their own event.

"Wow," Puck said, surprise in his voice. Was he genuinely impressed?

"It took you 50 minutes to go 400 meters? You're losing your touch, Grimm."

"How did you get first?" he asked no one in particular. He snapped his fingers and stood up straight, "Were they so shocked by how gross you are that they felt bad and gave you first? Ooh! Maybe they were so blinded by your ugliness so didn't see who they gave the number!"

Sabrina punched his arm, and glared at him. "I got first because I was faster than everyone else, Stinkpot."

"Not everyone," the fairy reminded in a sing-song voice, "My 400 was forty-eight flat."

"You're an Everafter."

"And?"

"Don't forget," she immediately remembered, "I won."

"Did you not hear me? My time was faster than everyone on the team. No one can beat the mighty Trickster King!" he proclaimed, puffing out his chest.

"It's actually a shame. You really have nothing going for you. Ugly, stupid, slow... I almost feel bad for you, Bubbles," he admitted, referring to her as the overly optimistic cartoon character.

Sabrina punched him once again, this time with more force.

"Stop calling me that. And no, I meant the bet, or challenge, or whatever."

A look of confusion spread across Puck's face, and she elaborated.

"You told me if I beat any of your 400 meter times, that you would stop calling me Bubbles. I beat one of your times- your first 400 was fifty and ninety-eight."

"Whatever," he shrugged. Another smirk formed, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"...Barbie."

Sabrina groaned and walked away from the cackling boy.

* * *

 **A/N- What did you think? In case you hadn't figured it out, Sabrina was running a 400 Meter Dash for her track team. If you have some, leave suggestions for future chapters! Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- Hola! Sorry for not uploading this a soon as I should have- I don't really have an excuse, besides the fact that this is longer than what I've written before, and I'm a huge procrastinator ^_^;**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys like it :)**

* * *

If there was one skill Mustardseed had learned from the Grimms, it was how to deal with panic.

However, panic was just what set in, upon realizing he had lost it. The one important thing- the only important thing- was this, and he had idiotically forgotten where it was.

His room now resembled a small town in the aftermath a multitude of natural disasters simultaneously decided to strike. Two hours he spent, rummaging through dressers, searching desks, and laying on the floor with his head sideways to search the underside of his furniture. An empty pillowcase had been strewn on top of a bureau, which had every drawer taken out of its holder and placed on the fairy's bed. A rug had been messily rolled up and haphazardly thrown in a corner, against a wall.

"Where are you?" Mustardseed shouted in exasperation.

"Right here?" came a voice from behind him. He thought he was alone and jumped nearly a foot in the air at the sound.

At the pointed look from the woman in front of him, he awkwardly chuckled, and then spoke.

"Sorry," he scratched his neck, "Didn't see you there."

The pointed look turned into a small smile. "It's fine," the woman said, "What are you looking for?"

"Uhh..." Mustardseed attempted to think of a quick lie. "My shaving cream?"

"The shaving cream that's sitting on the counter in the bathroom?"

He mentally face-palmed himself. Why would his shaving cream be in his room?

"Did I say shaving cream? I meant, uh, my raving beam?"

"Raving beam?"

"Yeah, it's a beam? Um, it's like this, uh, glowstick?" The questions were trying to convince him as much as the woman he was speaking to. "You know, like a beam of light? For when I go to raves?"

Another face-palm. Mustardseed never went to raves! He barely knew what a race was. Apparently it was a ton of lights and electronic music and dancing- none of which interested him.

She knew he was lying, but it didn't anger her. She had an idea of what he was looking for. "Go ask Daphne. She's got a knack for finding things."

Saying Daphne had "a knack for finding things" was a joke between the two. Years ago, they had discussed a spell the pigtailed girl had learned, not realizing that spoke in front of a large crowd of people. One small pouch of forgetful dust later, Granny Relda suggested the family say she had a talent for doing whatever task the spell performed. Mustardseed and the woman always referred to Daphne's skills as "having a knack", and the phrase stuck, even when the two weren't in public.

"She can help you find your," here the woman continued used air quotes, "raving beam."

Mustardseed snapped his fingers together, almost in an applaud to her idea. "Of course! Thank you!"

He hurried out of his room, not bothering to reorganize- Daphne surely had a "knack" for cleaning rooms as well. He lightly kissed the woman's lips on his way out of the door, jumped in their shared car, and drove off.

•••

"What's a raving beam?" Daphne asked, turning a hard left, which nearly knocked Mustardseed over. She had demanded she drive while he explained what had happened- an almost fatal mistake.

"Honestly," he said, shaking his head slightly, "I don't even know."

Daphne's eyes widened, and she screamed. "Oh my gosh! Dog!"

"Daphne!" Mustardseed yelled, as she violently swerved around the oblivious pup, wandering the busy street.

His arms scrambled around to latch onto parts of the car to prevent himself from crashing into her. In his frenzy, the glove compartment between the two seats accidentally flew open, revealing a familiar small box. Daphne glanced at the box and her eyes widened again. Silence engulfed the car, spare the few horns thrown her way. She was the first one to speak.

"Mustardseed," she started slowly, eyes almost cartoonish, "Is that what I think it is?"

Mustardseed hadn't told her what he was looking for, just that he had lost something and that it was an emergency. He swallowed before speaking.

"Uh, yeah."

Daphne screamed again, through the palm of her hand, this time out of excitement. "Oh my gosh! This is happening! This is so gravy! Ah!"

Mustardseed resisted the urge to cover his ears- Daphne's squeals only increased in volume as she spoke. She stole a look at the box, then another, and another, and another, until she was just staring at it in excitement.

"Daphne, eyes on the road!" Mustardseed shouted, leaning over and turning the wheel, making yet another sharp swerve around a car.

Another silence developed, this one much shorter lived, as a look of confusion slipped onto her face, and she broke the silence once again. "Wait, is that what you needed help finding?"

Embarrassed and flustered, he nodded. "She doesn't know. And neither do you. Right?"

Daphne nodded, understanding his underlying message. "Right. I have no idea what you're looking for in your room, I have no idea what's in that box, and I have absolutely no clue what might happen in the next few days."

With one arm on the wheel, she threw the box to Mustardseed and closed the glove compartment.

He sighed with relief, shoving the box in his coat pocket. "Thank you."

"For what?" Daphne asked rhetorically, smiling.

•••

The "Ride of Death", as Mustardseed called it, had finally- and thankfully- ended. One spell later, his room was returned to its normal, tidy state.

"Good luck!" Daphne had whispered to him on her way out. "And check under your pillow."

Puzzled, he waved goodbye and closed the door. He entered his room and took her advice, lifting up his pillow. To his surprise, an unused glowstick lay there, with something written on its side. He lifted it up, and turned it around to get a better look at the object.

Mustardseed let out a small laugh. "Rave Beam" it read, in black letters resembling lightning.

"Whatcha got there?"

This time, Mustardseed had seen the woman approach him from the side of his eye, and refrained from jumping. He held the glowstick up for her to see as his form of an answer.

"Wow," she spoke again, dumbfounded. "An actual raving beam. I'll never doubt you again."

The fairy chuckled. "Hey," he said placing the Rave Beam neatly into a drawer. "Do you want to go out to dinner tonight?"

In front of him, the woman looked unsure. "Uh, I guess. Where do you want to go?"

He smiled and made a suggestion. "We could go to that little Italian place you love?"

She immediately brightened up, and looked as if she wanted to bounce up and down. "Really?"

"Yeah, of course." He looked at her, smiling.

Minutes later, the two were in the car, he in the driver's seat and she in the passenger. Lights flashed by, from stores, restaurants, companies, and other buildings crammed along the street. The nightlife of the city was somehow both quiet and noisy. The time wasn't past eight, but bars and clubs were already illuminated, offering fruity drinks and exciting nights to twenty-somethings passing by.

Mustardseed kept his eyes on the road, listening to the automated voice from the small phone, which read out directions.

" _Turn right on Pendleton Street in 300 feet_ ," the smooth, monotonous GPS instructed. He spun the wheel and merged into the right lane, then turned on his blinker before he reached the traffic light, which glowed a bright red.

"I wonder whose voice that is-," the woman started, just as the light turned green, "you know, who had to record all these names of streets and numbers and directions."

Mustardseed continued driving while she spoke. "Did the woman have to read all these instructions in different languages- do German instructions sound the same as English ones? What happens when a new street is built? Does she have to record the street name again, or does the GPS company not put the street in?"

She looked at him expectantly, awaiting his reply. "I never thought about it," he admitted. "I always thought that someone came in and recorded a bunch of different sounds, and the GPS people put the sounds together to make words, and that's why some streets are pronounced really weird. I didn't think about the language thing, though."

Without asking, the woman took the phone from the dash and began fiddling with it. He didn't mind, of course- he knew how to get to the restaurant from where he was.

" _Gire a la derecha en la calle Kinstro_ ," the voice said. It was the same voice, only speaking a different language.

"Turn right on Kinstro Street," the woman translated. "You were right- it is just a ton of sounds, but that's pretty cool, still."

" _Has llegado_." The woman quickly translated again, "You have arrived."

They parked in an open spot close to the entrance of the restaurant, and he killed the engine, removing the keys from the ignition.

The woman smiled as they entered, and the hostess seated the two quickly. The dinner went as perfectly as Mustardseed could've wanted. He ordered a fancy meat dish- he wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was delicious. She decided on a fancy pasta, and by her reaction, he guessed her meal was more than satisfactory. They spent the dinner talking animatedly about work, their apartment, friends, family, and even possibly getting a pet.

"Wait," he said, after she asked about a breed of dog. "Does our complex allow dogs?"

This troubled the woman for a second, but she quickly answered. "No, but we do have a giant stash of Forgetful Dust."

"Hmm."

The conversation continued, and after their plates had been cleaned, the waiter arrived bearing the bill. "For whenever you're ready," he added with a smile.

Mustardseed took the bill, and placed his credit card inside. The woman then spoke.

"You don't have to pay for me, I can ask the waiter for two bills."

"It's alright, I want to pay for you," he said. Sensing her nervousness and knowing about men before him he continued. "After this we can go walk around, go home, watch a movie, and just go to sleep. I don't expect you to give me anything."

"Thank you," she said, voice quiet. Silence found them, and he saw her shoulders tense.

"So what breed of dog would be the best for an apartment?"

The woman smiled, and relaxed.

•••

The area surrounding the restaurant was beautiful. On one side sat small shops selling treats and trinkets, their lights glittering under the dark sky. Opposite was a view of the water, shimmering under the lights from the stores. Mustardseed held the woman's hand, and their arms lightly swinging in unison as they walked on the sidewalk by the water, her other hand on the metal railing to prevent others from falling in. They walked for a long time, sometimes with riveting conversation, others with comfortable silence. Eventually, the two travelled back to the car, and returned to their shared apartment.

They both changed into comfortable pajamas and slumped on the couch. Neither was sleepy, but they realized their feet were tired from the walking. Mustardseed pulled himself into the kitchen to begin making microwave popcorn while the woman grabbed the remote and began searching for movies.

"What kind of movie should we watch?" she called from the couch.

"Surprise me."

The microwave beeped after a while, and he tore the bag open, releasing the steam and pouring the snack into a bowl, along with something else. Another bag was made, and he poured the popcorn into another bowl, making sure he knew which was which.

Trying to not look nervous, he walked back into the other room, and handed her a bowl. The screen of their television was black, and he knew she had pick out a movie and queued it up. She pressed play, and he focused on the screen.

Halfway through the movie, he saw the woman freeze and stare at something in her bowl. He had been watching for this, waiting for when she would see it.

Silently, he switched bowls with her, fished out what she was staring at, and began to talk.

"When I first met you, I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. Then you spilled coke on my white shirt," he flashed a grin as she gave a small giggle, snapping out of her trance, and now looking at him, "and I wasn't quite sure about you. You have the anniversary of the day we met on your calendar, you never forget to say thank you when someone holds open the door, and you always feed the ducks at the pond. You're spunky, and amazing. When I asked you out, I was terrified you would say you hated me, terrified you would laugh at me, but you didn't. Of course, you did say no, but that didn't stop me. I asked you the next year, and the next, until finally you said yes. I thought I had struck gold. You have brightened up my life, and done nothing but care for others. I am so lucky to be in the position I'm in now. I love you. I love you more than I thought I could love someone, and I want to spend forever with you, and I mean that."

He took a velvet box out of his back pocket, and placed the ring inside it.

"So," he said, getting down on one knee, "Will you marry me?"

The woman hugged him tightly.

"Yes! Of course, yes!"

He placed to ring on her finger, extremely grateful it fit- he had taken a ring from her dresser when she was gone one day, and traced the inside to give to a jeweler.

Mustardseed pulled back, and kissed her lightly.

"Let's watch the rest of this movie, shall we?"

"We shall." Red said, smiling.

* * *

 **A/N- Who guessed it would be Red? ;)**

 **Did you like it? Was it OOC? I had the urge to write a proposal, and I don't think I've seen this pairing before, so tell me what you thought.**

 **Question: Have any of you guys read/seen the movie Paper Towns? I just started reading it, and I really like it so far. I'm at the part where they're about to screw over Chuck (in the waaaayyy beginning). Is the movie anything like the book? I want to know before I decide whether or not to read it.**

 **Related Question: Does anyone have any good book suggestions? I'm always on the lookout for something new and and good to read. :)**

 **(P.S. You should totally review ;) ;) ;) )**


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